In silico approach to reveal viral populations in grapevine cultivar Tannat using transcriptome data

Abstract

Viruses are ubiquitous and present in a wide range of settings, from living organisms to various environments. Although viruses are regarded as important pathogens in higher plants, viral populations in specific host plants have not yet been fully examined. This study revealed viral populations in grape berries obtained from a cultivar from a single vineyard using currently available grapevine transcriptomes. Eight viruses and two viroids were identified using 11 grapevine libraries. Virus-associated sequences in each transcriptome ranged from 0.2% (seed) to 8.8% (skin). The amount of viral RNAs and virus copy numbers was quantified, thus revealing the dominant virus or viroid in each individual library. In addition, five viral genomes were successfully assembled de novo using transcriptome data. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the viruses and viroids might have originated from Europe, along with the host. Single nucleotide variation studies revealed the quasispecies of RNA viruses. Taken together, this study defines complex viral populations in three different grape tissues from a single vineyard.